I design communities, leadership, experiences, belonging, cultures and connections, so people grow together.

For over a decade I've built the conditions for connection, turning groups of strangers into communities that learn faster, support one another, and create opportunities that wouldn't have existed otherwise.

Currently Head of Learning & Development at Kahoot!

Build something together See the work
Irma Horvath seated, holding a stack of leadership and behavioural-science books
  • Design Terminal

I combine behavioural science, facilitation and systems thinking to design environments where people don't just belong, they contribute, grow and create value together. I've built people functions from the ground up and owned the entire people side of a startup through to a $50 million acquisition. I've launched leadership programmes adopted across global organisations, mentored hundreds of founders, and facilitated experiences for groups from a handful of people to well over three hundred, training the facilitators who now carry that work across an organisation of twelve thousand.

Irma facilitating an intimate small-group conversation
Irma leading a large standing circle of participants in a hall
Irma on stage mid-talk, smiling with the audience around her

A circle of strangers, mid-way to becoming a community.

01 / Approach

It all started at camp.

Some of my strongest childhood memories are from summers at Szarvas, singing around the campfire, endless inside jokes, the feeling that for two weeks this was the only place in the world that mattered. I returned year after year: first as a camper, then a counsellor, and eventually training the next generation of camp leaders.

Every summer I watched the same thing happen. A group of strangers would arrive shy and uncertain, and leave as a community. For a long time I thought that was simply the magic of summer camp. It wasn't.

It was the result of hundreds of intentional choices: shared experiences, meaningful responsibilities, honest conversations, celebrating wins, making sure everyone felt seen. Someone had designed the conditions for connection to happen. That realisation never left me.

“How do you intentionally create the conditions for people to feel they belong, contribute generously, and leave stronger than they arrived?”

I've chased that question across classrooms, remote cultures, leadership communities and mentoring networks. The strongest communities don't happen by accident. Someone builds them, and that's the work I love most.

02 / What I've learnt

Six things I've learnt about communities.

  1. 01The strongest communities don't happen organically, they're designed.
  2. 02Belonging is created through contribution, not just consumption.
  3. 03Community isn't built at events. It's built between them.
  4. 04Great communities don't just create relationships, they create opportunities.
  5. 05Small acts of care compound into trust.
  6. 06The highest-value introductions are often invisible to everyone except the person making them.
A celebrating audience of several hundred people at a large-scale gathering

From small strategy sessions to gatherings of 350+, designed for connection, not just attendance.

03 / Work

What I actually do.

A community ritual at a Kahoot! gathering, people linking paper chains overhead

Build communities

Communities that don't just bring people together, they help people learn faster, support one another, and create opportunities that wouldn't have existed otherwise.

  • Elevate Alumni · Kahoot! A leadership programme I created, now an active community of practice, dedicated Slack space, peer-mentoring marketplace, quarterly masterminds and a facilitator network.
  • Brain Bar Teacher Club The community layer for Europe's largest future festival (10,000+ people a year). I built the first-ever Teacher Club: an invite-only cohort of 50 educators across the Carpathian Basin, with full community ownership.
Irma on set, notes in hand, directing a production alongside a camera operator

Design systems

The best communities need infrastructure. I design the systems, rituals and operating models that make connection and learning scalable.

  • K!ompetence Hub · Kahoot! Conceived and built Kahoot!'s internal learning ecosystem from the ground up, partnering with Product & Engineering, rooted in behavioural science and adult learning.
  • Design Terminal Led the redesign of the startup mentorship programme when it moved fully online during Covid, preserving the depth of mentoring and community.
  • Drops Designed the rituals that defined the culture, Social Standups, Team Time, Dropsites and DropsFit, embedding belonging into everyday work.
A group standing in a close circle, arms around each other, laughing together

Facilitate experiences

Experiences where people don't just sit in the same room, they think differently, build trust, and leave with stronger relationships.

  • From two people to 350+ Conflict resolution between startup co-founders, executive coaching, leadership development, and large-scale company experiences.
  • Bosch Trained facilitators to multiply capability across an organisation of 12,000, building internal capacity rather than dependency on external experts.
  • Morea, my consultancy A decade of training, facilitation and coaching for global brands and fast-scaling teams across Europe.
Irma in conversation on a panel in front of a Forbes backdrop

Connect people

One thoughtful introduction can change the trajectory of a person, a startup or an organisation.

  • An award-winning mentor Mentored hundreds of founders at Design Terminal, Central Europe's leading accelerator, profiling entrepreneurs and matching them with mentors, investors and subject-matter experts.
  • A network, not a rolodex The highest-value introductions are often invisible to everyone except the person making them. Those are the ones I make.
Irma delivering a keynote on a large stage to an audience

Eight people in a circle or a thousand in a hall, the craft is the same: designing how people connect.

04 / Proof

Founders I backed early, building real things.

Startup founders celebrating with Final Show awards at the Design Terminal virtual mentoring programme
Founders at the Final Show of the Design Terminal virtual mentoring programme.
Volteum Fleet management for EV & mixed fleets Raised €2.5M seed (2026, Movens Capital); ~€3.75M total. Expanding across the UK, Benelux, DACH & Central Europe.
Sweet City Marketplace for premium cakes & celebration delivery “Most Developed Startup”, Design Terminal 2020; later a HUF 400M round, expanding to Vienna, Barcelona & Berlin.
Scoutlabs (SMAPP Lab) Agtech pest monitoring & smart traps €5,000 first prize (2020); rebranded as Scoutlabs and raised $2M seed in 2024 from DEPO Ventures, IVP, SVG THRIVE & Impact Ventures.
The Good Persona Community-led marketing consultancy Turns audiences into real-world communities; founders also built Briefly, Hungary's largest freelancer platform (4,000-member community).
Compocity Gamified community composting (“CompoBot”) Received HUF 45.9M through Hungary's Startup Factory 2023.
“I have watched Irma organize and run international conferences and symposia, and what stays with me is how completely at ease she makes a room feel. She holds space with warmth and genuine professionalism, leading in a way that lets people settle in, connect, and know they belong. She is meticulous about the experience of everyone present while keeping the logistics seamless and gracious, so the care never reads as effort. Being in a space Irma hosts is its own kind of welcome, and any community or organization would be fortunate to have her shaping how their people gather.”
Haesun Moon Haesun Moon, Ph.D. Communication Scientist · Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Brief Coaching
“Irma is, without any exaggeration or mere politeness, one of the most professional colleagues I have ever had the privilege of working with. She has an exceptional ability to build rapport quickly and naturally, creating an environment where people not only feel comfortable sharing their ideas, but are genuinely eager to do so. Under Irma's leadership, collaboration comes effortlessly; teamwork feels both seamless and enjoyable.”
Gergő Böszörményi Nagy Gergő Böszörményi Nagy Founder, Brain Bar
“Elevate was a life-changing experience. It brought us together, made us listen and learn from like-minded leaders at Kahoot!. It created a bridge between teams and ideas, structuring and sharpening our leadership skills. If I could, I'd do it again and again.”
Lavinia Jecan Lavinia Jecan Team Lead & Community Director, Kahoot!

05 / Contact

Let's design the conditions for connection.

Building a community, a leadership programme, or a culture that has to scale? I'd love to hear what you're working on.

irma.horvath@gmail.com LinkedIn ↗
Irma smiling while working at a laptop in a bright, plant-filled workspace